Something had changed. Linda didn't know what it was, but there was something new about the redhead that had her ever more found of the misfit. Little by little, she'd begun to worm her way into the Sniper's consistent routine. She was either with Kelly, the IVs, or Linda herself. Horace, according to the more talkative soldier, had been shipped out, and she was condemned to be without her best friend, as she had so complained when she joined her meditation a few nights ago. She hadn't missed a single session with the team, and it was baffling. Her bickering with the Chief had by no means subsided, but Linda could see it becoming a fond sort of think between the two. Some of the time at least. There were instances where Catherine had been very close to snapping, and instances where she had done just that.

However, she seemed much more….alive. More like a living being than a shell of a person that once was. And yet, it wasn't deep. The relationship she had built with her and kelly was genuine, but skin deep. She didn't trust them with her personal business, and kept herself from being the topic of discussion.

It was the sort of think that relzed Linda, and made her anxious at the same time. She wasn't sure if this was an improvement, or if Catherine had simply reconstructed her walls, making them more durable than ever. John hadn't attempted to get closer to the redhead, and she had regarded him similarly. Frederick had tried….and failed. She seemed not particularly fond of either of them. Linda could understand that. Frederick had only recently stopped pinning for the woman, and John...well, their relationship was a strained mix of hatred and appreciation. The more she thought about it, the more she found it odd that John of all people would remain at odds with someone. Maybe he had found something in her files that had stalled his determination to reach out to her, or maybe he knew what he was doing better than Linda could perceive from the outside. Either way, the entire team was eager to see the pair get along better. And thus, the trio found themselves concocting a plans. When the two were in as good a mood as they could get them, the three would silently excuse themselves from meals, or meetings when they were no longer needed. And little by little, it began to work. Catherine had gone from more or less hating the Spartan, to at least being on good terms with him. They were learning to be civil with each other. They were by no means friends, let alone family, but Linda had hope. Which was odd. She couldn't remember the last time she had been hopeful about something. It was a light feeling, not unlike a weight being removed from her shoulders. She supposed the entire team felt the same. It was relieving to see her come around, even if she had a long way to go.

"Linda? Are you even listening to me?" the sniper cracked an eye open and looked at the redhead across from her.

"Frederick took your ankle out?" she asked for clarification.

"Yeah! And it hurt like hell! He's so rough when we spar, I swear." she muttered.

"He's no more rough than Kelly and I are." she pointed out.

"He does it on purpose!" she defended, and Linda sighed in irritation. She liked the girl, but she could talk up a storm about the most trivial things.

"He's trying to make you a better fighter." she said, closing her eyes again

"Well I don't like the way he does it." Lina cracked a blunt grin.

"Then train with the Chief." Catherine felt a shiver run up her spine.

"No." she stated firmly. She had come to dislike John less, but she didn't want to find herself in the ring with him. He had figured out to personalize her, and it made her increasingly uncomfortable. She'd thought he was strong, brooding, and stupid. Apparently he was a psychiatric mastermind who could read her like a book. This was why she didn't like people knowing what she was. It gave them an edge, and she hated that about herself. What she found strange about him though, was that he had yet to mention his findings to the others. They seemed completely unaware, and her only explanation was that he didn't have all the answers. Part of her expected that he was just waiting to get the full picture so he could tear her down completely. She didn't know why her anxiety was so adamant that this man was out for her demise when he'd made it plainly clear that he was trying to do nothing but his job, which was the exact opposite of put her six feet under, be it physically or emotionally

"Then don't complain about sparring with Fred." Linda quipped. The real mental workout of her meditation these days way to keep from snapping at the redhead. She wasn't annoying, Linda was just easily irritated when she was interrupted n the calming of her mind and body.

"You could spar with me instead." she supplied, and Linda felt a sense of warmth flicker under her skin that the redhead was now comfortable enough with her to ask such a favor.

"I could." she agreed. "But you should still make an effort to better your relation with John. He's going to be required to give an assessment on your fighting skills at some point. Might as well prepare yourself now." Linda pointed out, much to the redhead's displeasure.

"Everyone keeps saying he's not that bad, or he just wants to help. That doesn't change anything though. I don't trust him." she explained, and Linda sighed. She was apparently not going to have a chance to truly meditate with Catherine in the room.

"Alright. Let's look at this rationally. What has he done to warrant you distaste." she prodded. Catherine tried not to laugh, knowing full well there was a list.

"We met when he ran me off the road in the rain, and he refused to give me a ride unless I disclosed private information about project Forerunner." She explained.

"That's it?" Linda asked bluntly. Catherine let out a low chuckle.

"Oh no. That's just the first offense. Secondly, he set me up in the gym with Fred, then he broke my door, was a jerk about my absence, which was really his fault by the way, and the icing on top, he went peeking through...personal records." she listed, finding her displeasure with the Spartan building as she spoke.

"And what has he done to warrant your forgiveness. Be fair Cat, your partially to blame for his bad mood, and indirectly his treatment of you." Catherine knew what she was doing. She was trying to help her organize her mixed feelings based on facts and assumptions, and differentiating between the two.

"Well he didn't court martial me, even though I suspect it would have been acceptable to a few times. And he did return the file I gave him." she admitted. Linda frowned ever so slightly at her.

"That's all you've noticed?" she seemed almost disappointed in Catherine, and the redhead felt a bolt of offense.

"Well what would you have liked me to pick up on hmm?" she dared. Linda moved from her sitting position in front of her as she stood to retrieve a water, before taking a seat on her bed.

"How about the fact that he didn't give up on you? Or that he left the choice to stay to you. And let's not forget that he was more concerned with getting you medical treatment than finishing the investigation. He cares about you Cat. He's trying to let you in, all of us are for that matter, and it's taking a toll on the team more so than you realize. Maybe if you tried caring about us more than yourself, you'd find yourself hating this situation a lot less." Catherine felt as if she had been stung. Linda had a way of making heartfelt words come across as either blunt, or harsh. There was no lilting tone, only rough, harsh truth.

"I'm only still here because the Chief thinks I'm beneficial to the team. I don't know what that's exactly supposed to mean, but I'm here because I decided to be here for you all. Although Chief doesn't exactly seem like he needs me around for anything. At least not much more than comic relief when I mess up." Catherine argued. Linda gave her a blank look.

"Let me tell you a little bit about our commander Cat. We were all conscripted young, but John was immediately thrust into the position of a leader. He had to train harder than the other Spartans, had to be more mature than the rest of us, and he couldn't let things slide. He had to set an example before he'd even achieved it himself. Blue Team has been the closest thing to a family for all of for a long time now, but for quite a while, he didn't have us." Catherine, listening to her teammate as she moved, relocated herself beside the Spartan. "He spent the majority of the war without us, hell, there were times where he didn't know if we were dead or alive. The Spartan program was rough on all of us, but we had each other. The war though...John was alone." Catherine had heard the stories. She knew full well that he had been the one man army that took down the covenant, but it had never occurred to her that he hadn't wanted it that way.

"I...suppose you have a point. He's not evil by nature by any means." she agreed. "And I don't doubt that his actions up to this point haven't been entirely his fault. However, I'd hardly say he cares. From the standpoint of his position as team leader maybe, but individually, I don't believe so."

"You're reflecting the actions of other people onto him. I know it's not easy to let that go, but you'd both benefit from giving him a chance. John is a valuable asset to have in one's corner, if nothing else provides incentive to try forming a bond." Linda offred. Catherine rolled her eyes at the suggestion.

"Yeah, when I start counting on the big bad Master Chief to fight my battles satan can just go ahead and let hell freeze over." she replied sarcastically.

"I'm serious Catherine. Give it a try."

Catherine didn't want to attempt what she was about to do. She would much rather live in her closed off world, where people couldn't touch her. It was funny to think that it had barely even been weeks since she'd been willing to meet the Chief part way, not halfwaay by any means, but it was still better than where she sat now. She had disliked him a little at first, grown to find him somewhat tolerable, then reverted to hating him entirely. However, when Catherine had analyzed herself a bit deeper, she realized that the rationality of her distaste wasn't sound. She had let Fayree get to her, and her wariness of the Spartan had turned to confirmed distrust when he made his slip up in the gym. But it wasn't fair to judge him by that. Not only had he not know why the topics he'd brought up were sore, in a roundabout way….he was right. And she had felt oh so called out by it. Now, after a week of self reflection imposed by Linda, she found that it was time to make amends. He was right in his observation that she was unorthodox, and she was far too easily angered.

Previously to encountering Blue Team, she'd been floating by, drowning in her unhealthy ways. But now there was someone present consistently enough in her life to recognize the need for an intervention, and as all troubled human beings did, she had reacted venomously towards the intrusion. But now that she had had some time to think on it, and had flushed Fayree's opinions from her mind, she no longer felt the need to be at odds with him. But now she stood before the Spartan's dorm about to do something she really didn't like to do. She knocked once, knowing his augmented hearing would likely pick up on it. He seemed, surprised when the door slid open, revealing Catherine in all her sheepish glory.

"Please tell me you're not here because I now have to write an apology letter to someone." he mumbled, voice raspy and almost sounding drained. She faltered, slightly, and John sighed. "Oh no."

"Actually, I'm here because I was wondering if…." she paused suddenly. Why did he look so bedraggled? "Are you...alright?" she interrupted herself, giving him a once over that spoke of her judgement on his appearance.

"I take it you haven't heard then." he chuckled softly. "The council is paying us a visit, and due to Mr. Estrefi's little escapades, they've asked that we up the security. Which in turn requires my correspondence with the Captain has been requested to patch any possible holes in security." he explained.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that took you all night." she said. He nodded in confirmation. "Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to join me for lunch, but I have a feeling a nap is higher priority on your list right now." she teased. "That or a coffee."

"I don't drink coffee." Catherine's playful smirk turned to a gaping mouth.

"Because your insane or…" she goaded

"Because it's a dependent." he supplied.

"Food is a dependent. Do you not eat either? Oh wait, I already know the answer to that question." he raised a brow at her invitation to banter, but didn't turn it down.

"Food has nutritional value. Coffee is anadicted substance that causes the body to go into a state similar to a high before crashing its energy levels-"

"You know what the difference between you and I is?" she interrupted, placing her hands on her hips. "You are literally no fun."

"Did you come here to insult me or invite me to lunch?" he asked bluntly, a hint a smirk on his lips.

"Hmm, ya know, I don't know. I mean, that was a whole two minutes ago before I found out you were against coffee." she joked, an impish grin directed his way. "However, I think I can make allowances. The Spartan rolled his eyes at her.

"I'll meet you there. I have a few other things to handle." he said, sounding somewhat resentful.

"Fair enough." she said, feeling somewhat satisfied with herself. One argumentless conversation down. A whole lot more to go. But this was a start. "Don't be long, ya know, if you don't want me to eat out the mess before you get there." she half threatened.

"I'd like to see you try."

Catherine hated when the mess was crowded, not because she despised the ruckus, but because people were just all together rude. There were the line cutters, the mess makers, and the ones with no sense of personal space, shoving into others around them. Catherine found it to be particularly annoying that when people left, they couldn't even leave something as clean as when they came. Heck, she was literally raised in a dirty orphanage on the side of the road, and they at least taught her to push her chair under the table. Days like this reminded her of being in sector three. The resounding clank as the seat next to her was taken had Catherine looking up to meet John's equally annoyed gaze. "You gotta love boisterous marines, right?" she said sarcastically.

"Isn't there a recreational deck? Half of these people aren't even here to eat." he pointed out. He was right though, as some people were simply present to mingle.

"You say that like you never use it." she said in amusement. "So the Master Chief doesn't drink coffee, and never goes to the recreational deck. Do you realize your profile is that of a sixty year old grandpa?" she asked. He sent her a warning look, and she snorted. "Oh don't tell me I hit a sore spot." she goaded.

"I don't like crowds. Or people. Or loud things in general." he stated. She was tempted to tease him further on it, but she understood what he was talking about. Those were all things that long term veterans weren't exactly fond of, and considering what she knew the war to be like, she couldn't actually blame him.

"I can level with that." she chuckled softly. He gave her a look of suspicion, as if he was just waiting for her to make him the punch line of a joke. "No, really. I get that. It's hard to be a party person when you spend most of your time in combat." she expounded.

"Try most of your life." he said dryly. "Speaking of which-"

"Ya know, I wondered how long it was going to take you to ask." she stated, and he gave her a look that spoke of his annoyance at being interrupted.

"How did you manage to get into ONI so young?" he asked. "Your file said sixteen." he stated.

"What? Jealous I have an edge on your training?" she bantered. His jaw went slightly slack, before he bit his lip. The Chief's expression was somewhere between mortified and amused.

"Yeah, we'll go with that." he agreed. Catherine could sense fishiness all over his reaction, but she chose not to comment. "Really though. How'd you get in?" he prodded.

"Technically I'm not supposed to say. Dr. Halsey pulled strings for me. But then-"

"She was arrested."

"And the project was shut down. Didn't It matter though. I was too old for the system by then anyhow." she said with a shrug.

"So you just...stayed?" he asked.

"Well yeah, what was I supposed to do? Go home? Reality check, I don't have one. This-" she said, gesturing around them. "This is home." she stated. He seemed somewhat curious about the declaration, and Catherine could hear his response coming almost immediately.

"If this is home...then what counts as family?" Now that..that was a tough question.

"Family...is a convenience. For some people. For others it's just...tiring. It's easier not to have one so I don't." John felt a surge of disappointment with her answer. Not only had he been hoping that she at least had someone to go home to, he'd been hoping that she had coined up with Blu Team just enough to understand that the prospect of a family was right before her, or at least chosen to accept it as one. Clearly they hadn't crossed that bridge yet.

"What about you?" she asked. He blinked in confusion.

"What?" he asked.

"What does the Master Chief consider home?" she asked. John, who had been idly flicking his fork through his fingers, set it down on his plate. How was he to explain this to Catherine? He didn't want to lie to her, but just how far could he stretch the truth.

"Blue Team is home. We're what eachother has." he answered simply. Catherine was unsatisfied with such an answer.

"Where are your parents?" she asked, taking a bite of her meal. That was a good question. He didn't quite believe the lies they'd been told about their families as children, but he didn't have proof of anything different.

"We were separated after I joined the UNSC." he explained. Catherine's eyes settled on him, and John felt oddly weighted under her gaze.

"I'm sorry, have you looked for them?" John wanted to say yes. He wanted to tell her that he had spent years searching for them, never having given up on a reunion, but the truth was, he hadn't. He didn't remember them, heck, he didn't even remember his full name. Not only that, it had seemed futile to find them. He had a job to do, a job they could never know about.

"No. Never saw any point in it. Did you..."he was treading dangerous ground with his next question, but it wasn't as if she hadn't already asked the same of him. "Did you ever look for yours? Was that why-"

"Why I ran away all the time? No. I uhh, I didn't want to see them. I was abandoned when I was ten years old. I don't know what happened, I've had amnesia about it all since I woke up in the hospital. They couldn't find anyone or anything connected to me. DNA scans couldn't even ID me. It was like a just kind of...poofed into existence. I've had all sorts of theories growing up but...I never really wanted answers." her tone grew somber as she spoke, and John found himself unsure of what to say. Part of him felt sorry for her. Another felt slightly angry on her behalf. But most of all, as usual, he was curious. For her to be untraceable was practically impossible, and yet...she was. "Speaking of which, I wanted to talk about that. I..don't want the rest of the team to know." she said.

"To know what, exactly?" He couldn't possibly see why she wouldn't want to share her background with anyone else.

"This, all of it. I don't like to tell people, I don't like the judgement. People look at you differently when they realize you aren't like them." she said softly. John thought her viewpoint on the matter to be completely absurd.

"Cath, they're not going to think like that. If anyone would understand that it would be us." he argued.

"Please, Chief." she said, and he realized this wasn't a disagreement he was going to win. He sighed in indignation and offered her a nod. "Thank you." he huffed in response, and she offered him a sheepish smile.

"Linda mentioned you needed another training partner as Fred was...ill suited." he began, and Catherine paused as she was prepared to continue her lunch. No. That little medler…

"Did she now? I suppose I mentioned it to her a few times." More like many times.

"I'll be in the gym later. If you're feeling up to it, your welcome to join me." he offered.

"I'll have to think about it. I've been enjoying the change in schedule concerning training." That change being the lack of availability between the members of Blue Team. And she was likely going to have even less time in the gym when the council arrived. "But I could be persuaded."

AN: Well I hope you guys are liking this so far. I've had to change quite a bit of it from how I originally wrote it, but it's been fun developing

Characters. To those of you who reviewed, thanks so much for your support. There's so much more to go, and I can't wait for you guys to read

it.